Primary concern
‘To help make the case to the wider party, Progress is launching a
campaign to support primaries for parliamentary and mayoral selections.
We don’t do this as some hangover from the Obama election, wishfully
thinking that we can recreate some of the magic here in Blighty.
Instead, we see it as one opportunity, among others such as introducing
proportional representation, which will help to extend politics back to
the electorate and away from the political elite.’ – Jessica Asato, Comment is free
‘But we believe that primaries could be one step along the road towards democratic renewal, and with the Tories and Lib Dems in favour we might have the chance to make it a practical reality. In fact, it’s galling to see the Tories take this on and use it for their own political advantage, rather than because it’s a good thing to engage citizens per se. This should be Labour territory and we should be leading the pack.’ – Jessica Asato, LabourList
‘Parties are suffocating, local selections are decided by ever smaller and self-selecting cabals, there has never been a greater distance between political parties and the communities they serve (with notable exceptions), politics is in its worse state in living memory, the status quo is just not acceptable anymore.’ – Anthony Painter, e8voice.blogspot.com
Suu Kyi verdict
‘Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced to an additional 18 months’ house arrest by a court in Rangoon.’ – BBC
‘The verdict and sentence prompted international outrage. In a strongly worded statement released by Downing Street, Gordon Brown dismissed the trial as a “monstrous” sham and promised to push for a total arms embargo on the Burmese regime.’ – Richard Lloyd Parry, The Times
US financial crisis
‘The point is that this time, unlike in the 1930s, the government didn’t take a hands-off attitude while much of the banking system collapsed. And that’s another reason we’re not living through Great Depression II.’ – Paul Krugman, The Guardian
‘The cumulative lost output from the housing crash recession is likely to exceed $6tn, more than $40,000 for an average family. But, this is only 20-times as large as the “huge” budget shortfalls that the media warn could result from President Barack Obama’s healthcare programme. The proponents of “no stimulus” argue that we should not be worried about such trivial sums.’ – Dean Baker, The Guardian